A salty sea breeze, warm sunshine and seemingly unlimited coastal roads. Nelson sits at the top of the South Island, with Abel Tasman, Golden Bay and the Nelson Lakes all within a morning’s drive. Hire a camper through Camplify and you get one-off vans that New Zealanders built for their own trips, so no two are the same. These five are worth your time before you book campervan hire in Nelson. Cruise around beaches and rolling hills before parking up in that picturesque spot. It’s all the fun parts of camping, without having to pitch a tent.
1. Nelly of Nelson
The sunshine that fills Nelson’s orchards is the same sunshine that makes the coast road to Motueka a pleasure. Nelly of Nelson is a 2018 Renault Master with a Kea conversion, and the rear makes up as two singles or one king. There is a shower and toilet on board, and solar panels with an inverter give you 240-volt power off grid. The kitchen holds a fridge, freezer, microwave and a Nespresso machine, and Starlink travels with the van. Hire starts from around $217 a day over a minimum of three, with an awning and chairs for long evenings.
2. Culinary funky treasure
It’s all in the name. Nelson eats well before you have even left town, and this camper keeps that going. ‘Culinary funky treasure’ is a 2011 Nissan Caravan for two, laid out around an oven, a hob, a 110-litre fridge-freezer and more than thirty spices and herbs. The foam bed extends to 186 centimetres, and you can stand upright to cook, which is rare in a five-metre van. A 23-litre water tank, 250 watts of solar and a 600-watt inverter keep the quiet spots liveable, and the owner describes her as self-contained. Hire starts from around $177 a day, and the service fee covers your gas and staples.
3. Richard and Val’s Coaster
Some trips are better taken slowly, and Richard and Val’s Coaster asks for a week as its minimum. This 1992 Toyota Coaster runs to seven metres, sleeps two on a permanently made-up extra-large double, and needs only a class 1 car licence. A full oven, microwave, fridge-freezer, shower and toilet mean a wet afternoon at St Arnaud costs you nothing but a book. Solar panels, diesel heating and an awning round it out, and hire starts from around $331 a day. No frills or fuss, but plenty of character.
4. Canary Da Van
Nelson sits on the doorstep of Abel Tasman National Park, where the Coast Track threads between granite headlands and pale gold beaches for 60 kilometres. Water taxis run in from Mārahau and Kaiteriteri, none going north of Tōtaranui, and huts and campsites must be booked in advance year round. If Awaroa Inlet is on your route, you can cross only from 1 hour 30 minutes before low tide until 2 hours after. Canary Da Van is a bright yellow 2011 Toyota Hiace, hand-built for two by ALMA-Vans and easy to park at a trailhead. You get a two-metre bed, a 25-litre fridge, a portable stove, a diesel heater and 200 watts of solar, from around $201 a day. The owner lists the van as certified self-contained until December 2028, and its toilet is a chemical one. Since June 2026 the green warrant has been the only valid certificate, and it requires a toilet fixed to the floor, so ask to see the card. Freedom camping in an uncertified vehicle starts at a $400 fine.
5. Little Red
Motueka sits about twenty-five minutes from the Kaiteriteri and Mārahau jetties, close enough that an Abel Tasman day barely counts as a drive. Little Red is a 1994 Toyota Estima, small and honest about its sun-faded paint, with a double bed that folds back into two bench seats. Your kitchen lives outside under the awning with a gas bottle, table and chairs, and blackout curtains and a heater handle the inside. It is not self-contained, so the owner points you at commercial and DOC campgrounds, and keeps the van between Takaka, Murchison and Blenheim. From around $85 a day over four days, it is your cheapest way into campervan hire around Tasman.
Nelson rewards a slow drive more than a long one. Whichever camper you choose, the coast road north, the switchbacks over Tākaka Hill and the beech forest at St Arnaud are all within reach. Check which vans are free for your dates on Camplify before the summer weekends fill up.
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